Paul Lukas

Overview

Paul Lukas (born Pl Lukcs; May 26, 1894 August 15, 1971) was a Hungarian actor. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor
for his performance in the film Watch on the Rhine (1943), reprising the role he created on the Broadway stage.

Biography

Lukas was born Pl Lukcs in Budapest into a Jewish family, the son of Adolf Munkcsi and Mria Schneckendorf. He was later adopted by Mria (ne Zilahy) and Jnos Lukcs, an advertising executive.

Lukas made his stage debut in Budapest in 1916 and his film debut in 1917. At first, he played elegant, smooth womanizers, but increasingly he became typecast as a villain. He had a successful stage and film career in Hungary, Germany, and Austria, where he worked with Max Reinhardt. He arrived in Hollywood in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1937.

In 1943, he guest starred as the eponymous character in an episode of the radio program Suspense, “Mr. Markham, Antique Dealer”. On April 2, 1944, he starred in “The Steadfast Heart” on Silver Theater.

Modern viewers also remember Lukas for his role as Professor Aronnax in Walt Disney‘s film version of Jules Verne‘s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954). By that time, however, he was, at age 60, suffering from memory problems during the production, apparently leading him to lash out at cast and crew alike. Even friend Peter Lorre was not immune to the abuse.

The remainder of his career moved from Hollywood to the stage to television. His only singing role was as Cosmo Constantine in the original 1950 Broadway stage version of Irving Berlin‘s Call Me Madam, opposite Ethel Merman (although he is heard singing a song in the 1933 film Little Women, displaying a pleasant voice).

Lukas died August 15, 1971, in Tangier, Morocco, reportedly while searching for a place to spend his retirement years. He is buried in Spain.